J. Dinkins G. Grange is an attorney in Northeast Florida, helping his clients find solutions to their financial problems, which in some cases includes bankruptcy in some cases. This Blog contains general bankruptcy relevant information. His practice includes representing clients in various areas of civil litigation including Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcies, foreclosure defense and probate.

Monday, December 29, 2014

In 2009, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability,
Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which requires issuers to
disclose to the CFPB the terms and conditions of any college credit
card agreement, the number of new credit card accounts, and the
compensation paid by issuers to institutions of higher education in
the previous year. In order for students and the public to identify
marketing agreements currently in effect, Congress further required
that colleges and universities also publicly disclose these
agreements. The CFPB is required to submit an annual report to
Congress about these agreements, and to make the report publicly
available.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released
its annual report on college credit card agreements, which shows a
nearly 70 percent decline in the number of agreements since
Congress passed new disclosure requirements in 2009. These findings
highlight the trend of shifting from credit cards toward other
products such as debit and prepaid cards. The report also found that
most colleges with credit card agreements do not make those
agreements readily accessible to students and families. BRIEF HISTORY

A lack of transparency in the student loan and credit card markets
led Congress to enact reforms to help the public better understand
the marketing partnerships between colleges and lenders. In 2008,
Congress passed a law requiring schools to disclose preferred lender
arrangements with student loan providers and establish a code of
conduct for school officials.

REPORT

The CFPB found that:

College credit card agreements continue to decline:
In recent years, there has been a steady decrease in both the number
of college credit card agreements and open accounts. In 2009, some
1,045 agreements were in effect. In 2013, 336 agreements were in
effect; around a 70 percent drop.

College debit and prepaid card agreements are now
more common than credit card agreements: According to a
report from the Government Accountability Office, there were at
least 852 schools that had agreements with companies to market debit
or prepaid cards to students in 2013. Unlike credit cards, these
products do not have specific requirements in federal consumer
financial laws to disclose their marketing partnerships.

College credit card agreements are not readily
accessible: The CFPB reviewed 35 college and university
websites to determine if they made their credit card agreements easy
for students and families to find and access. The Bureau found that
80 percent of these institutions—28 of 35—do not put their
agreements, or information about how to request them, on their
websites.

Monday, June 23, 2014

People you usually of the mindset to do
everything possible to pay all your bills, liquidating everything
possible to try to avoid filing bankruptcy, and then, as a last
resort, file bankruptcy. Bankruptcy should be a last resort,
referring to a financial plan, and doing things according to the
plan, not just doing things to do things. Last resort does not
mean do everything you can think of, regardless of what it is.

You have heard the phrase you should do
things Smart, not just Busy.

The thing about the bankruptcy code, it
does not necessarily make logical sense. Often one can do something
whereby they think they are helping themselves, just to find out
later they were actually hurting themselves, both financially and
emotionally. And all because they did not take advantage of a free
bankruptcy consultation.

An example

The following is a general scenario
that is not uncommon given the following general facts:

Double wide mobile home (12 months
of payments left);

5 acres of land in a rural part of
county in Florida (paid for);

$30,000 in a retirement fund;

a vehicle - owed $25,000, worth
$17,000; and

significant debt on credit cards
and medical bills.

One other small fact, a recent
downgrade in jobs; lower income.

Does this sound remotely familiar?

After liquidating retirement funds,
refinanced the home to include the land for some money to pay bills.
Later ran low on money, vehicle repossessed, and the real property
sold at a Short Sale.

A bankruptcy consultation would have
revealed the retirement funds could have been saved, and the home
probably could have been saved. The car, depending on income and
equity in the vehicle, could have probably been saved. Credit card
and medical debts, most probably discharged in bankruptcy.

This is an example of waiting too long
to receive a consultation so one can plan their affairs around the
filing of a bankruptcy.

Please keep in mind, no 2 cases are
the same. Every case is different, and you should seek the advise of
a local bankruptcy attorney in your area.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Bank of America Corp. is in talks to pay at least $12 billion to settle
civil probes by the Justice Department and a number of states into the
bank's alleged handling of shoddy mortgages, an amount that could raise
the government tab for the bank's pre-crisis conduct to more than $18
billion. At least $5
billion of that amount is expected to go toward consumer relief —
consisting of help for homeowners in reducing principal amounts,
reducing monthly payments and paying for blight removal in struggling
neighborhoods. As the negotiations with the government heat up, the bank
is being pressed to pay billions more than the $12 billion it is
offering. The North Carolina bank's total tab to end government probes
and lawsuits related to its conduct in the runup to the financial crisis
is increasingly likely to surpass the record $13 billion that JPMorgan
Chase & Co. paid last year to settle similar allegations. Bank of
America has already struck a $6 billion settlement, by the Justice
Department's measure, with the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

As of August 1, 2014, Volusia County is
being removed from the jurisdiction of Jacksonville Division of the
Middle District of Florida, and being reassigned to the Orlando
Division. To view all the counties assigned to the various divisions
within the Middle District, please review Local Rule 1071-1 as
amended.

To view the local rule amendments
taking effect on August 1, 2014, Click
Here

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Ever thought of doing a bankruptcy
yourself. That's right, without the aid of legal counsel. There are
both pros and cons to doing such a thing. The pros are obvious, at
least 1 is obvious anyway; it is cheaper. That's right, doing a
bankruptcy yourself, is cheaper; no attorney fees.

So, what is the downside to doing it
yourself. Although you may file a legally sufficient bankruptcy,
that is, one the Bankruptcy Clerk will accept, may be the beginning
of your problems. I am sticking my neck out when I say this, but
there are probably as many things that could go wrong with your
bankruptcy are there are people that file on their own. Without
being familiar with the Bankruptcy Code, Bankruptcy Rules, case law,
and local rules before setting out to do it yourself, it is true your
case may go through just fine, but you could have your case
dismissed, unnecessarily loose property to creditors, or even end up
in litigation.

Am I trying to use a scare tactic? I
don't think so. I couldn't help by think of Lucy when she would do things on her own, without knowing what she was really getting into.

Even people that hire attorneys that don't do
bankruptcy on a regular basis run into surprises from time to time. I
am one that believes the saying of an ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure. That is to say, before deciding to proceed on your
own, at least get a consultation from an attorney in your area that
actively helps clients with their bankruptcies. Want to save money,
well you can usually find in almost any market attorneys that give
free consultations. Why some people file bankruptcy without ever
getting a free consultation is beyond me. The bankruptcy practice is
a highly specialized and complex area of the law.

A recent article in The Florida Bar
News is about someone that decided to do a will on their own using
forms. While it is true the forms are legally sufficient, without
the advise of counsel, after the demise of the will's author, the
will ended up in litigation, and ultimately cost much more than
simply hiring an attorney to do the will correctly to begin with.
Keep in mind that this involves an area of the law that is much
simpler than bankruptcy. You can find the article, with a link to
the Florida Supreme Court case, at http://tinyurl.com/mgl6av8.

Before filing bankruptcy, check with
friends that have filed and find out if they were happy with their
attorney. If so, see if you can get a free consultation. You can
also check the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys
website (www.nacba.org) for a
member attorney in your area, and check the for members of local
bankruptcy bar associations that may be in your area.

Monday, March 24, 2014

I did a quick search on Google of bankruptcy attorneys in St. Johns County, Florida. This is because I recently opened an office in Green Cove Springs (GCS), Florida. While Ponte Vedra Beach and St. Augustine are in St. Johns County, there is a large population that resides in the county, outside of any city limits.

How would a person in the country pick a bankruptcy attorney. For those unfamiliar with GCS, it is walking distance from St. Johns County. Both Clay County (where GCS is located) and St. Johns County have few attorneys practicing in the area of bankruptcy. This caused me to peruse the question of how would someone would pick a bankruptcy attorney?

When searching for the best attorney for filing bankruptcy, you should look at more than just price. In fact, price is probably the last thing you should look at.

Have you ever shopped for a good bottle of wine. Quite often price has nothing to do with the quality of the wine. Of course, I am not talking about the gut buster cheap stuff. But of the moderately priced wines, you need to know your wine to select one that meets your expectations. You could get an overpriced wine that has you walk away with a bad taste in your mouth.

Attorneys are not unlike wine in many ways. I suggest you should look at

the attorney's experience,

continuing education, and

organization affiliations.

The experience has to do with the number of years of practice before sitting judges and familiar with case law within your jurisdiction. The law is always changing in every field of law, and bankruptcy is no exception. This is why continuing education is so important. That is also why membership in local bar associations and national associations is important. It is easy to search for national organizations that cater to fields of law. For consumer bankruptcy, it is the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.

Also look at surrounding counties, or nearby cities. Sometimes a short drive will reward you with an attorney with more experience, more individualized attention, and a better price. This is not just relevant to bankruptcy, but also probate, criminal law, family law, or any other practice of law you can think of. When you get into areas of practice that are highly specialized, like an attorney that specializes in zombi nuclear holocaust law (imagine that might be a specialty somewhere), you might want to look a little further than just your nearby county.

If you have some ideas of how to pick a good ... no, Great Attorney, please let me know.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

OK, it appears the Court is increasing fees again. Recently the Court raised fees, followed by a shifting of having Debtor's attorneys mailing Orders (ultimately an extra expense for Debtors), to the Court cutting back on staff. Now the fees are again being increased.Please see the email correspondence I recently received. (PLEASE REMEMBER, I'm just the Messenger) ---The Judicial Conference of the United States
met on March 11, 2014, and approved changes to the Bankruptcy Court
Miscellaneous Fee Schedule effective June 1, 2014. A summary of those changes
follow:

The fee for filing a complaint increases to $350.00.
The following administrative fees are increased to the totals noted:
- For the filing of a petition under Chapter 7, 12, or 13, $75.00.
- For the filing of a petition under Chapter 9, 11, or 15, $550.00.
- When a motion to divide a joint case under Chapter 7, 12, or 13 is
filed, $75.00.
- When a motion to divide a joint case under Chapter 11 is filed, $550.00.

As a consequence the increases effective June 1, 2014, the full fee for
filing a -Chapter 7 will be $335.00
Chapter 9 will be $1,717.00
Chapter 11 will be $1,717.00Chapter 12 will be $275.00Chapter 13 will be $310.00
Chapter 15 will be $1,717.00---So, what is the change for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 Filers?

For Chapter 7, the fee is increased from $306.00 to $335.00.For Chapter 13, the fee is increased from $281.00 to $310.00.

That's right, a $29.00 increase.

If you feel like giving me your feedback on this, I certainly understand. Do you think there should be a limit as to what the filing fees should be to file bankruptcy?

Monday, March 3, 2014

I now have 2 offices located in Clay County. These offices should prove much more accessible to my clients. The first one is in Green Cove Springs at 403 North Street. (ZOOM in for a more precise location).

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

The federal government's Do Not Call (DNC) Registry allows you to permanently restrict telemarketing calls by registering your phone number at donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222. If you receive telemarketing calls after your number has been in the national registry for three months, you can file a complaint using the same web page and toll-free number.

The Federal Trade Commission advises that it is not necessary to register cell phone numbers on the DNC Registry despite e-mail claims circulating on the Internet telling you to do so. [This is regulated by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act]

Placing your number on this national registry will stop most telemarketing calls, but not all of them. Calls that are still permitted include those from:

Political Organizations

Charities

Telephone surveyors

Some insurance situations

Organizations with which you have a relationship

How To File A Complaint About A Sales Call

If you think a sales call is in violation of the Federal Trade Commission rule and want to file a complaint, use the online resource.

A Federal Trade Commission rule defines what telemarketers can and cannot do when making a sales call. Callers must:

Provide the seller's name.

Disclose that the call is a sales call.

Tell you exactly what they're trying to sell.

Disclose the total cost and other terms of sale before you make any payment for the goods or services

Tell you if they don't allow refunds, exchanges or cancellations

If a prize is involved, the caller must give you the odds of winning, inform you that no purchase is necessary, and tell you how to get instructions for entering without buying anything.

It's illegal for telemarketers to:

Misrepresent what they're offering.

Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

Threaten, intimidate or harass you, or call again if you ask them not to.

This FTC rule applies even when you receive a call from a telemarketer in another state or country. It also applies if you make a call to a company in another state or country in response to a mail solicitation.

The rule generally does not apply when you call to order from a catalog or in response to an ad on television or radio, or in a magazine or newspaper. It also does not apply to solicitations you receive by fax or e-mail. Be aware that certain types of businesses, including nonprofit organizations, investment brokers and advisors, banks and financial institutions, are exempt from the rule.

In addition, telemarketers are not allowed to use auto dialers to reach cell phones.

If you get a phone call from someone who says they are with your bank and/or credit company and they ask you to provide or confirm any personal information:

Do NOT answer any questions.

Hang up immediately.

Call your bank or credit company directly and tell them what happened.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

I thank all my wonderful clients for a
great year in 2013. Now, in 2014, I would like to change things to
be able to better serve my clients. As things slowed down around the
Christmas holidays, I had a chance to sit back and take inventory of
my practice. I have decided to make a few changes.

First, I have a goal of making myself
more accessible to my clients. Toward that end, I am going to
develop a way to provide consultations over the internet using
current technology, such as Skype. This should prove to be much more
efficient than having to get people to come into my office.

Secondly, I plan on moving my office to
a more central location for my clients. I am looking at opening 2
offices; one in Green Cove Springs and one in Middleburg. While the
offices are only 30 minutes from each other, they are in very
different geographic locations within Clay County.

I have a web address of
www.bankruptcyjax.com,
which is not very descriptive of being a Bankruptcy Attorney in Green
Cove Springs, or a Bankruptcy Attorney in Middleburg. Both are in
Clay County, and as such, perhaps I should promote myself as a
bankruptcy attorney in the Greater Clay County Area.

How should I promote my web site? Any
thoughts?

UPDATE: Effective February 15, 2014, my Green Cove Springs office will be open, and by March 1, 2014, my Middleburg office will be open.

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Jacksonville Bankruptcy Attorney -- J. Dinkins G. Grange, Esquire

I am a consumer bankruptcy attorney
helping people with their financial situations. As a bankruptcy lawyer, I help people find
various alternatives towards handling their financial problems, and
if needed, I can provide legal assistance to consumers seeking relief
under the bankruptcy code. I can be contacted by email at dgrange@grangelaw.org. I am available by appointment
during the week and most evenings.

I am located in Green Cove Springs on North Street, and Middleburg on Palmetto Street.

I am a member of the National
Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (www.nacba.org),
Jacksonville Bankruptcy Bar Association, American Bar Association,
Florida Bar, and Jacksonville Bar Association.

I have also been designated a debt
relief agency by Congress and the United States Supreme Court and I
help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the bankruptcy code.

Disclosure:

We are a debt relief agency. We help clients file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. This blog site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.